Creepy crawlies
Do you regularly check your ferret for ectoparasites ? This is something owners can do at home and something that should be part of every routine health check. Your ferret may look all cute and fluffy with their beautiful coat but have you ever checked what’s lying beneath? Let’s have a look at some different …
Hypoglycaemia in ferrets
Hypoglycaemia means low blood glucose and clinical signs can present as unsteadiness, fatigue, exercise intolerance, muscle twitching , shaking , abnormal behaviour such as staring into space , depression, signs of nausea such as pawing at the mouth and ptyalism (excessive saliva). In serious cases the ferret may collapse and in rare cases seizuring may …
Lymph nodes in ferrets
What are lymph nodes and why are they an important to check ? Lymph nodes are small kidney bean shaped organs that run along the route of the regional lymphatic vessels. They are an encapsulated mass of lymphoid tissue supported by dense connective tissue. Their function is to filter lymph, bacteria or other particles. They …
Ferrets and the veterinary nurse consultation
Why do we see ferrets in practice? In the past few years, it’s been great to see how the treatment and nursing of our small furry friends has improved. With more practices registered with the RWAF as ‘Rabbit Friendly’ and many surgeries getting involved with ‘guinea pig awareness week’ you get a feeling that more …
Why Ferrets?
My love for the mustelid family was ignited when I began working for a company that specialises in animal assisted therapy . As part of a small team we took animals onto mental health wards, brain injury units and care homes. One of the most popular characters we had in our little animal family was …
No Bones About It
….there’s no denying it’s super cool that we have the ability to see inside our patients! In most veterinary practices we are lucky enough to have some super great radiography equipment that helps us diagnose conditions that we simply would not be able to do with just a physical check of the animal. Why are …
The Ferret Grimace Score.
Do you pain score your patients ? You maybe used to the Glasgow or Colorado pain scales for your feline and canine patients . But did you know there’s now a grimace scale for our ferret patients? Ferrets are extremely sensitive to pain and stress. Getting on top of your patients pain can help reduce …
The ‘Jill’ Jab…
Any alternatives to the Jill Jab ? A GnRH implant can’t be used off license given subconsciously every 18-24 months although in some cases this has lasted longer. A vasectomised hob can be used to mate with the jills to take them out of season . Although the owner should be made aware this can …